Cell-case for tobacco-pails



(No Model.)

B. MASON & J. HARTNER.

CELL CASE FOR TOBACCO FAILS.

No. 411,965. v Patented Oct. 1, 1889.

i L V WITNESSES IWVEWTORS h PEYKRS. PhMo-Lflhogmphar. Washington, D. l.

UNITED STATES PATENT EEicE.

ED\VARD MASON AND JOHN HARTNER, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

CELL-CASE FOR TOBACCO-FAILS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 41 1,965, dated October 1, 1889. Application filed July 12, 1889. fierial No. 317,334! (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EDWARD MASON and \V. yne and State of Michigamhave invented new and useful Improvements in Cell-Cases for Tobacco-Pails; and we hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

As is well-known, by far the greater part of fine-cut chewing-tobacco is sold in bulk, and nearly all of this is packed in wooden pails of ten pounds capacity. The tobacco always contains considerable moisture when packed, and it is desirable to have it in this condition when offered at retail. If moist enough to be fresh, it is found that the lower strata will settle and pack hard in the lower part of the pail in transit, and while standing will become too moist and liable to mildew, while the upper portion dries out and is to a certain extent unsalable if not freshened or recased. The object we have in View is to overcome these difliculties by separating the" contents of the pail into shallow layers, supporting independently each superimposed layer, and at the same time to divide said layers of tobacco into given units of weight, so as to save the retailers time and labor in weighing out the goods.

To this end our invention consists in the novel and peculiar construction and arrangement of cell-cases within a tapering pail, as more fully hereinafter set forth.

Figure l is a sectional elevation of our crated tobacco-pail, the vertical section being taken on the line or a: in Fig. 2, which is a plan of the pail, showing the two upper cellcases in place. Fig. 3 is a detached perspective view showing two cell-cases and the manner of their arrangement with relation to each other in the pail. Fig. 4: shows in elevation two of the cell-case strips, the longer being used in an upper and the shorter in a lower cell case. Fig. 5 shows the manner of locking the strips together.

In the drawings, A represents an ordinary ten-pound tobacco-pail.

B B are cell-cases, each having sixteen (16) open cells formed by notching together, as in Fig. 5, six crossed strips of straw-board. The middle strips being longer than the others fit them to the circle of the pail, and all are of such width as will enable each cell to receive an ounce of finecut tobacco, which may be madeinto a roll or bundle by an encircling paper band, as shown at D, Fig. 1. The strips for the lower cell-case are shorter than the upper, as seen in Fig. at, so that the said cell-cases will fit the lesser diameter of the pail, and the capacity of the cells is maintained by increasing the width of the strips. A hoop O, of wire or other material, may be notched into the top of each strip near its extremities, as seen in Fig. As one-half of the peripheral cells have but one-half the support from the crate below that the others have, this hoop will sustain part of the contents of said cells.

The cell-cases are arranged as shown most clearly in Figs. 2 and 3-that is, with the strips of one cell-case at an angle to the strips of the other cell-case, whereby the cells of each case are out of line or in different lines, and the tobacco is .thus supported in the cellsof the upper case on the strips of the lower case, and thus the contents of each cell is separately supported, as is evident.

\Vaxed paper E may be laid between the cell-cases, and if stiff enough to support the contents of the larger peripheral cells the hoop C may be omitted without departing from the spirit of our invention. The said hoop is otherwise advantageous in this, that it stiffens the crate so that it can be readily handled and also locks its members together. This crated pail is favored by retail dealers aside from the better condition in which its contents are kept, because they are saved the time and labor of weighing out each ounce A cell-ease formed of a series of crossed separately, exact weight being now given instrips notched together and secured by the stead of, a guess at the Weight of a handful hoop O, resting in notches in the upper edges when the dealer is in a hurry and rolls up of the crossed strips near their ends, sub- 15 5 an ounce and a half, to his loss. stantially as and for the purpose set forth.

We are well aware of the fact that crates made of strips crossed and locked together EDWARD MASON. have long been in common use, and, While We JOHN HARTNER. disclaim, broadly, the invention thereof, Witnesses: to lVhat We do claim as new, and desire to se- H. GRANGER, 1

cure by Letters Patent, is Z. P. YOUNG. 

